Tuesday, April 21, 2015

The Citi Bike system is currently experiencing a major station crash with only 174 of 330 stations operating. Citi Bike has not yet announced the crash or the reason for it. We'll keep you posted with updates here.Update: A second crash at 10:30. 231 of 330 stations operating. Restored by 11 am.Update: Normal service restored by 9:10 am

Monday, April 20, 2015

Not nearly enough bikes on the street.That’s our conclusion for the big jump in empty stations during last week’s pleasant weather.

This time last year, Citi Bike’s average fleet size was 5700 and bikes in the docks at a given moment on weekdays hovered around 4700.

Around noon Friday there were 3460 bikes in the docks -- 1300 fewer than last year.

Add this to the mix: membership hit an all-time high of 105,000 last April. The latest available membership figures (February) show a more than 15% decline to around 88,000. So there would seem to be less pressure on the system.

And a final reason for our concern. At this writing, 24 mph sustained winds are driving the rain sideways. There are only three empty stations -- an all-time record low. And bikes in the docks stood at 3560.

So say there are 400 or so people crazy enough to ride in that stuff. That puts the current fleet size at about 4000, a stunning 30% decline from last April’s average.

Maybe last week was just a blip. But for now, 11 straight weeks of satisfactory system performance stands as the record.

“NYC DOT Sidewalks team completed saw cutting, excavation and laying of the concrete base on Varick St. for our first in-house granite strip that makes a Belgian block street segment smooth for cyclists!

One of the frustrating aspects of the Citi Bike experience was arriving at a station and making multiple attempts to take or return a bike before concluding that the whole station was kaput. Now you can avoid those stations.

The new software also allows the map to report more info about broken bikes and individual docks that have broken.

Motivate dumped original software provider PSBC, whose problems were evident even before Citi Bike launched in 2013. The new software is being provided by 8D Technologies, a company which also supplies software for other bike share programs around the country.